5 ms·

The original game is radically different in major ways to the current version. Maps are different, class mechanics are different, races are different, models a

The original game is radically different in major ways to the current version. Maps are different, class mechanics are different, races are different, models are different, enemies and bosses are different, classes are different, etc. It's a completely different game now under the same banner. Theseus' Ship comes to mind; yes, there's been a continuous migration process in place, but you cannot play World of Warcraft v1 any more. A more reasonable comparison would be Windows 95 vs Windows XP or something. Yes, XP is backwards compatible, but it's obviously a completely different OS in most ways aside from the name.

scrollaway 8y ago
WoW seems like a terrible example for this, in light of their announcement of WoW Classic remastered. A remaster is a pretty solid way of saying "we haven't abandoned the game". There's thousands of abandoned MMORPGs and you pick the one that's getting remastered? :)
- esotericn 8y ago
  The first expansion came out in 2007. It's coming up on eleven years. We're talking about a decade. So even if you take the announcement as an implication they're actually going to do it (I personally don't think it's going to happen, we will not see a 1.x.x release go live again without dramatic changes), six years ago it would still be illegal under this framework to fix a game you bought because at some indeterminate point in the future the manufacturer could appear again. Hell, even the _announcement_ was a year ago.
  - scrollaway 8y ago
    > So even if you take the announcement as an implication they're actually going to do it I have the files on my computer as I write this, they're downloadable unencrypted off their CDN (use this tool I wrote if you want them, with the remote `ribbit://us.version.battle.net/wow_classic`: https://github.com/HearthSim/keg https://github.com/HearthSim/keg). The demo will be playable at BlizzCon, if you're going there (come say hi if you are!).
  - boojums 8y ago
    There will be a playable demo of WoW Classic at Blizzcon this week (Nov3-4). Virtual ticket holders can play the demo at home. The play-at-home demo has the same playtime restrictions as the Blizzcon demo (e.g. 15 minutes per play session).
SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
Where does one draw the line that it's markedly different? Expansions? Major patches? When 8.1 is released are we allowed to emulate 8.0? 8.2 means 8.0 is fair game? Or the day after Wrath of the Lich King and the Burning Crusade?
- esotericn 8y ago
  I don't believe it should be _illegal_ to create, or operate, a compatible backend for the software at any point. The first-party solution, with all of the historical knowledge, employees, codebase, marketing budget, and so on and so forth, is going to be superior enough that these emulations will never gain significant traction anyway. To me, it seems like an issue of legal departments getting out of control.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    Should the emulators be able to patch code, or make ehancements? If someone grabbed WoW 8.0, with a decade and a half of work put into it, and then threw in a battle royale mode and that took off like crazy, is that totally fine?
    - esotericn 8y ago
      My opinion is that the creation or modification of video game software should not be illegal, in the general case.
      - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
        In the general case? So they can be modified for profit?
        jplayer01 8y ago
        Why not? The idea that only a single company may profit off an IP or idea for perpetuity is against every sense of capitalism and competition.

scrollaway 8y ago

WoW seems like a terrible example for this, in light of their announcement of WoW Classic remastered. A remaster is a pretty solid way of saying "we haven't abandoned the game". There's thousands of abandoned MMORPGs and you pick the one that's getting remastered? :)

esotericn 8y ago
The first expansion came out in 2007. It's coming up on eleven years. We're talking about a decade. So even if you take the announcement as an implication they're actually going to do it (I personally don't think it's going to happen, we will not see a 1.x.x release go live again without dramatic changes), six years ago it would still be illegal under this framework to fix a game you bought because at some indeterminate point in the future the manufacturer could appear again. Hell, even the _announcement_ was a year ago.
- scrollaway 8y ago
  > So even if you take the announcement as an implication they're actually going to do it I have the files on my computer as I write this, they're downloadable unencrypted off their CDN (use this tool I wrote if you want them, with the remote `ribbit://us.version.battle.net/wow_classic`: https://github.com/HearthSim/keg https://github.com/HearthSim/keg). The demo will be playable at BlizzCon, if you're going there (come say hi if you are!).
- boojums 8y ago
  There will be a playable demo of WoW Classic at Blizzcon this week (Nov3-4). Virtual ticket holders can play the demo at home. The play-at-home demo has the same playtime restrictions as the Blizzcon demo (e.g. 15 minutes per play session).

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago

Where does one draw the line that it's markedly different? Expansions? Major patches? When 8.1 is released are we allowed to emulate 8.0? 8.2 means 8.0 is fair game? Or the day after Wrath of the Lich King and the Burning Crusade?

esotericn 8y ago
I don't believe it should be _illegal_ to create, or operate, a compatible backend for the software at any point. The first-party solution, with all of the historical knowledge, employees, codebase, marketing budget, and so on and so forth, is going to be superior enough that these emulations will never gain significant traction anyway. To me, it seems like an issue of legal departments getting out of control.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  Should the emulators be able to patch code, or make ehancements? If someone grabbed WoW 8.0, with a decade and a half of work put into it, and then threw in a battle royale mode and that took off like crazy, is that totally fine?
  - esotericn 8y ago
    My opinion is that the creation or modification of video game software should not be illegal, in the general case.
    - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
      In the general case? So they can be modified for profit?
      - jplayer01 8y ago
        Why not? The idea that only a single company may profit off an IP or idea for perpetuity is against every sense of capitalism and competition.